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The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets will bring NBA basketball back to Macau in October, giving Sands China another major event to drive hotel stays, casino traffic and wider resort spending.
Sands Uses NBA Games to Feed Cotai Traffic
Tickets for the 2026 NBA China Games go on sale on August 12, with the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets scheduled to meet twice at The Venetian Arena in Macau.
The first preseason game is set for October 9, followed by a second matchup on October 11. NBA Fan Day will take place between the two games on October 10.
For Sands China, the weekend is about more than filling an arena. The company is using international sports as part of a broader effort to pull visitors into its Cotai resorts, where hotel rooms, restaurants, retail, entertainment and casino floors all benefit from higher footfall.
That makes the NBA weekend especially relevant for Macau’s gaming industry. A major sporting event can bring in visitors who may not travel primarily to gamble, but once they are staying inside an integrated resort, gaming becomes one part of a much larger spending mix.
Star Power Gives Resorts More Selling Muscle
The Mavericks and Rockets bring enough recognizable names to make the event useful as a destination draw rather than just a preseason exhibition.
Houston features Kevin Durant, while Dallas has Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg among its headline players. That kind of star power gives Sands more material to sell Macau as an entertainment trip, particularly to younger visitors and sports fans who may not be traditional casino customers.
For operators, that audience matters.
Macau has spent years trying to reduce its reliance on pure casino revenue and expand the non-gaming side of the market. Concerts, exhibitions, dining, retail and sports events are now an increasingly visible part of how integrated resorts compete for visitors.
The NBA fits neatly into that model. A fan arriving for a game may book two or three hotel nights, eat on-property, shop, attend other entertainment and spend time in the casino. The game itself is only one part of the wallet.
NBA Weekend Adds Another Layer to Casino Competition
Sands China hosted the NBA China Games in 2025, when the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets played at The Venetian Arena.
Bringing the event back in 2026 suggests the operator sees value in making NBA basketball a recurring part of its Macau entertainment calendar.
That matters in a market where casino operators are increasingly competing on everything surrounding the gaming floor.
The old Macau formula leaned heavily on gaming demand. The newer model asks operators to create enough attractions to persuade visitors to stay longer and spend across multiple parts of the resort.
Sports can help with that because they create fixed travel dates and packaged weekend demand. A high-profile game gives guests a reason to choose one resort over another, while also supporting hotel occupancy and food and beverage revenue during the event period.
What It Means for Casino Players
For regular casino visitors, the NBA weekend could mean busier floors, stronger hotel demand and potentially higher room rates around the event dates.
It can also work in players’ favor. Resorts often build promotions, hospitality packages and entertainment offers around major events, giving casino customers more reasons to combine gambling with a broader weekend trip.
The bigger industry point is that Macau’s casinos are no longer selling only gaming.
Sands and its rivals are trying to sell full resort experiences, and events such as the NBA China Games give them another tool to attract fresh customers while getting more value from existing ones.
The basketball may be preseason, but for Macau’s casino business, the commercial game is very much in season.
